Aspects of the disclosure relate generally to controlling an autonomous vehicle in a variety of unique circumstances. These include adapting control strategies of the vehicle based on discrepancies between map data and sensor data obtained by the vehicle. These further include adapting position and routing strategies for the vehicle based on changes in the environment and traffic conditions. Other aspects of the disclosure relate to using vehicular sensor data to update hazard information on a centralized map database. Other aspects of the disclosure relate to using sensors independent of the vehicle to compensate for blind spots in the field of view of the vehicular sensors. Other aspects of the disclosure involve communication with other vehicles to indicate that the autonomous vehicle is not under human control, or to give signals to other vehicles about the intended behavior of the autonomous vehicle.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A method comprising: controlling, by one or more computing devices, an autonomous vehicle; driving said autonomous vehicle on a multi-lane road, wherein the multi-lane road comprises a plurality of lanes traveling in a same direction; receiving by one or more computing devices map data corresponding to a planned route of said vehicle; determining by one or more computing devices a desired exit point from the multi-lane road; developing by one or more computing devices a lane selection strategy based on the planned route, wherein said lane selection strategy includes a target distance from said exit point at which a lane change protocol should begin; receiving by one or more computing devices sensor data from said vehicle indicative of surrounding vehicles in the vicinity of said vehicle; and changing said lane selection strategy based on said surrounding vehicles, wherein said step of changing said lane selection strategy includes changing said target distance from said exit point at which a lane change protocol should begin.
2. The method of claim 1 , including: calculating with said one or more computing devices a traffic density; and changing said lane selection strategy based on changes to said traffic density.
3. The method of claim 1 , including determining by one or more computing devices available pathways between said surrounding vehicles for moving said vehicle between lanes on said multi-lane road.
4. The method of claim 3 , including: assessing with one or more computing devices said available pathways to determine a freedom of movement factor of said vehicle; categorizing said freedom of movement factor into a first category or a second category; and wherein said step of developing a lane selection strategy is based at least in part on whether said freedom of movement is said first category or said second category.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein said assessing step includes evaluating the complexity of said available pathways.
6. The method of claim 4 , wherein said assessing step includes evaluating the number of said available pathways.
7. The method of claim 4 , wherein said assessing step includes evaluating the amount of time when there are no available pathways.
8. The method of claim 2 , wherein calculating the traffic density measurement is based on the number and spacing of surrounding vehicles in the vicinity of the autonomous vehicle.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein said lane selection strategy defines a first zone where the autonomous vehicle should begin to attempt a first lane change maneuver into a center lane, and a second zone where vehicle should begin to attempt a second lane change maneuver into a right lane.
10. A method comprising: controlling, by one or more computing devices, an autonomous vehicle; driving said autonomous vehicle on a multi-lane road; receiving by one or more computing devices map data corresponding to a planned route of said vehicle; determining by one or more computing devices a desired exit point from the multi-lane road; developing by one or more computing devices a lane selection strategy based on the planned route, wherein said lane selection strategy includes driving in a first lane that is not adjacent to the desired exit point, and determining a target distance from said exit point at which a lane change protocol should begin that results in driving in a second lane that is adjacent to the desired exit point; receiving by one or more computing devices sensor data from said vehicle, said sensor data indicative of surrounding vehicles in the vicinity of said vehicle; and changing said target distance of said lane selection strategy based on said surrounding vehicles.
11. The method of claim 10 , including: calculating with said one or more computing devices a traffic density based on a number and spacing of vehicles indicated by said sensor data from sensors on said vehicle; and changing said lane selection strategy based on changes to said traffic density.
12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the desired exit point is defined as an entrance ramp to another roadway different from the multi-lane road currently traveled by the vehicle.
13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the desired exit point comprises an exit from the multi-lane roadway coupled to at least one other roadway travelling in a direction substantially perpendicular to the multi-lane roadway.
14. The method of claim 10 , wherein the target distance is reduced from an initial value.
15. The method of claim 10 , wherein the target distance is increased from an initial value.
16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the desired exit point is defined as an entrance ramp to another roadway different from the multi-lane road currently traveled by the vehicle.
17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the target distance is reduced from an initial value.
18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the target distance is increased from an initial value.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
December 7, 2015
June 9, 2020
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